A New Era Dawning
by kymm
Summary: Shane McMahon and his alliance prepares to overthrow Vince McMahon's regime, and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley gets bored, goes for a walk, and decides to change her life. A new era is about to begin...


A Love Divided  ****

A New Era Dawning 

Summary: Shane McMahon organizes an Alliance, and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley gets bored, goes for a walk, and decides to change her life. There might be a sequel to this, featuring the fallback. The first two chapter are kind of from Stephanie's point-of-view, while the next two are from Shane's. They are, however, following chronological order; they just switch perspective. 

Rating: PG-13 _(Swearing)_

Author: _Katrine _

****

Chapter I 

The McMahon-Helmsley locker room was rather normal looking…_at least it is now,_ thought Stephanie to herself. Steve was there; so was Debra, and Daddy and Hunter, Stephanie mused. 

"I'm gonna get that son-of-a-bitch for throwing me through a glass window." Steve was saying. 

"Now, Steve." Vince McMahon said. "You have _got _to calm down." 

"Vince, how can the man calm down? Damn it, Undertaker just threw the man, with no reason, threw a window! He didn't do anything to deserve it! And then, he has the audacity to sit there in the studio and mock us. I mean, what the hell?" Triple H exploded. 

"We have to calm down." Vince repeated. "If Linda gets world of us screwing around, there will be consequences…damn it, you know that! I'm already on thin ice. I just hope she's given up or something…and, the last thing we need around here is Mick Foley as Commissioner." 

"Or around. I mean, you saw what he did on RAW. We have to be careful, Hunter." Stephanie was still thinking about that stinkface. Stephanie felt strange interjecting in their conversations. She felt like an awkward stranger at a fancy party. She rarely, if ever, had anything to say nowadays, since Austin had sided with Dad and Hunter. 

"Yeah." Agreed Austin. "I guess you're both right." He didn't sound like he meant it. 

"Yeah." Vince grinned, obviously relieved. "There's always Judgment Day, right?" 

Stephanie smiled. She glanced at Debra, who looked very frustrated. Stephanie wondered if she felt the same way about sitting in this conversation as she did. 

"Yeah." Austin said. "Debra, go get us coffee, will ya?" 

Debra rolled her eyes, shook her head, and turned around to leave. 

"I'll come with you." Stephanie said. She got off the couch, and joined Debra. 

"You be careful." Hunter warned. "You never know where that bastard could be." 

"Nah. He's got a big yellow stripe down his back, remember?" Austin said, and the men all laughed. 

"Well." Debra said as soon as the door to the room closed. "Aren't you going to mock me or something, billion dollar princess?" 

Stephanie was taken aback. "I'm not always like that, you know." 

"Well, it sure seems like it. All you've done to me since this god-forsaken alliance is tell me 'Oh, Debra, get me some coffee, but not with skim milk -- it makes me sick!' You know I am not happy with my husband or with your husband _or _with your father! Maybe, just maybe, you should take a note from your brother. Because, he sure is a better person than you are, million-dollar bitch!" Debra exploded. 

She stalked off. Stephanie was left in complete silence. "No one understands me." She sighed. She had thought that Debra had changed since she had slapped the Undertaker the other night.

"Hey, Steph!" Kurt Angle's voice came from behind her. 

"Hi Kurt." Stephanie said. 

"Was that just Debra?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer, he barged on. "Man, she needs a chill pill like I need my medals back! Million-dollar bitch? You just don't _say _that to Stephanie McMahon!" 

"Helmsley." She added. 

"Right!" he said with a grin. 

"Thanks Kurt." She said weakly. 

"Anytime! You sound down…what's wrong?" 

"Oh, I'm just bored. I was just in there—." She pointed to the locker room "—listening to Dad, Hunter, and Austin. I went with Debra to get some coffee, and she got all mad." 

Kurt shook his head. "Yeah. Well, I'm off hunting for Benoit. He still has my medals – in his crotch! Oh, I feel sorry for them! It's true, it's damn true!" 

Stephanie smiled. "See you later, Kurt." 

"Bye, Steph." 

He walked towards the direction he came from. She watched him leave. She remembered her attraction to him last summer…and realized it was still there. She blinked at that last thought. _Still there? _She smiled. She couldn't believe what a ridiculous thought that was…and she was never attracted in the first place, right? What a crazy thought. 

__

Well, she thought, _I guess I'd better get back in there. _

****

Chapter II 

It was the evening. Stephanie was sitting next to Hunter in their hotel room, watching episodes of RAW, where he and Austin had beat the crap out of Kane. 

"Ha, ha! Did you see that, Steph? We massacred him! Isn't it great?" Hunter exclaimed. 

"Oh, yeah Hunter!" she said, smiling. 

He smirked. "You wait till Judgment Day, then." He chuckled. 

"Hunter…?" She said. 

"Yeah?" 

"I think I'll go down to the lobby and grab a tray of food. I'm hungry." 

"Get the damn room service. You know they don't do their jobs…you have to call them all the time…." 

"Yeah, I know. I'll just get it myself. I need the exercise." 

"All right, Steph. See you." 

She walked out of the room. She heard Hunter re-rewind the tape of RAW. _The man is obsessed_, she thought to herself. 

She walked down the hallway. As she did, she ran into several wrestlers. Most just glared at her and passed by. A select few (mainly William Regal and Edge) said 'hello'. She was used to it; it had started happening after Armageddon in 1999. 

In reality, Stephanie wasn't very hungry. Or maybe she was; a little, but that wasn't why she was taking a walk. She wanted to make a phone call…he probably wouldn't even talk to her, but she had to talk to him. It had been bothering her since Debra had talked to her earlier. _"He sure is a better person than you are."_ She had said. That was probably true. 

She reached the lobby, and grabbed a pay phone. She didn't have too much money with her, but it would be enough. 

She dialed the number. 

One ring, two rings, three rings. 

"Hello?" a voice asked. 

"Shane?" Stephanie asked. 

There was complete silence. "What do you want?" he asked politely. 

Stephanie suddenly felt very stupid. "To say hi?" The reply sounded weak to her own ears. 

"Listen, I don't have time for this, Stephanie. I'm very busy…WCW, you know." She could feel his smirk. 

"Shane, I need some advice." 

There was silence. "Advice from me? Wouldn't Vince forbid that?" Shane asked.

"Dad doesn't know." 

There was more silence. Finally he said, "Ah. What about?" 

"Well…I'm tired of being the million dollar bitch." 

"Princess?" 

"Yeah. Well, I guess I'm tired of Dad's deplorable actions against Mom." 

"Since when?" _He sounded cold, _thought Stephanie. "You could have helped Mom, Mick, Trish and I before. I even asked you, Stephanie. You said no. In fact, I'm surprised you didn't even tell Vince I asked you to help me. Why should I trust you now? What are you in it for?" 

"Shane!" Stephanie said, shocked. "You know that isn't true!" 

"Oh, but I know it is." 

A heavy silence fell over the two. Finally, Stephanie said, sadly, "Well, if you don't want me to help, then I guess I'm alone. Good-bye, Shane." 

"Wait!" he interjected quickly. "Okay, if you tell me why you changed your mind all of a sudden, you can help. I'm sorry, but I need to know that you're not lying." 

__

Fair enough…I guess. Stephanie thought to herself. "Okay. Well, in all honesty, I'm bored." 

Shane snorted. 

"No…I don't like that Dad and Austin have sided. I hate Austin! He ripped my blouse off, Shane! And, God, look what he did to J.R. and Kane! Hunter too! I love Hunter, but still…! I've also looked at what Dad had done to Mom…it makes me sick, Shane! I don't want to be the person I was…I…I don't like that me, Shane." Stephanie pleaded. 

After a while, Shane said, "All right Stephanie. You can help. This isn't some big project though. It's really not." 

"I know." 

"All we're trying to do is put Vince in his place."

"Yeah, I know." 

"All right, then. I'll see you tomorrow at the Smackdown taping." 

Stephanie faltered. "What?" 

"Oh, I'll be there." Shane said mysteriously. 

"Okay, Shane. I guess I'll see you there. I'm running out of money. Pay-phone, you know."

"Oh. Well, bye then, Steph." 

"Good-bye." She said, and heard the click as he hung up his end of the phone. Stephanie did the same. As she did, a slow grin passed over her face. Maybe Kurt would want to join. Probably not: (_"How could you do something like that to someone like your father?", _he would ask.) Maybe Debra would. No, she wouldn't She supported her husband, even if she hated that he was sided with her Dad. So, she would not want to make Austin mad with her. She decided to push her feelings about Kurt aside, and to forget about Debra.

****

Chapter III 

The day was dark and gloomy in New York City. Thirty-one-year-old Shane McMahon didn't seem to notice as he climbed out of his _WCW 1 _limousine. It was about 15 minutes into the Smackdown taping; he was kind of running late, and his 'secret entrance' didn't really work out, because all of the cameras caught him coming. 

"It's Shane McMahon!" he heard Michael Cole exclaim. 

"What could he be doin' here, Coleslaw?" Tazz asked. 

"I don't know…maybe we'll find out here, on Smackdown!" Michael finished. 

Shane groaned. He hoped that the Big Show wasn't there. If he was, he should probably hide. That win at _Backlash _had been pure luck. 

"All though, that elbow drop was pretty awesome." He said aloud. He remembered how good it felt to win over the Big Show…who used to be his friend, but had chosen Vince over him. Vince could really corrupt people. Shane thought that he had known Show. He was apparently wrong.

"It really was, Shane. That elbow drop was great!" said… Lita. "Hi, Lita." He said. "Thanks."

"Yeah." She said with a grin. "I just saw you coming. What're you doing here? The Big Show is here. If he heard what Tazz and Cole said, you may be in trouble." 

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I guess I'd better get going somewhere…away from here." She laughed. "Could you get everyone?" 

"Sure thing. See ya, Shane." 

He walked away; hoping one of the stupid cameras hadn't caught that. 

* * * *

Several minutes later, Shane was seated in the APA's office, along with several others: The Hardyz, Lita, Chris Jericho, Billy Gunn, Trish Stratus, Chris Benoit, Test, The Hollys, and of course, the Acolytes. 

"What do you want, Shane?" asked Billy Gunn. 

"Well…it's about Stephanie, actually." Shane replied. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chris Jericho spit out his coffee. 

"What about _her?_" Trish Stratus said in obvious distaste. 

"Well. It's just that…she wants to join us." 

"_What?_" asked Jericho. "Everyone hates her. Even you!" 

"She is my sister. And she sounds sincere." Shane said. 

"Sincere? Since when is Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley-Angle _sincere?" _Test exploded. 

"Test, I know you…dislike Stephanie. But…" 

"But? She's going to turn her back on you, Shane. Just like she's done in the past. Just like she's done to _everyone _in the past!" Test replied. 

"I've turned my back on her, too. And look, you guys, if you trusted this McMahon, you can trust another McMahon." Shane pleaded. "Chris," he said, referring to Jericho, "You used to hate me. Remember 'Shane the Pussy'? Crash and Hardcore, you…well, have battles with the APA. You trust them…you have to learn to trust everyone, right? We have to give her a chance, guys." 

Shane cut off, giving them a chance to think. 

Finally, Billy said, "I guess that Shane is right." 

Trish nodded. "Let's just hope she doesn't pour a bucket of slime onto me again." 

Slowly, everyone began to nod. 

After everyone had agreed except for Chris Jericho, he scowled. Shane could hear him mutter, "Skanky ho." Under his breath.

"All right." Jericho said. "I guess I'm outnumbered."

Shane said, "Well…I guess that's settled. Now, for tonight –." 

"Wait! I never agreed! I am not letting that bitch join!" Test exclaimed. 

"Andrew…" Shane said. 

"Shane! How can you _trust _her?" he persisted. 

"I'm not sure, in reality. She called me last night. She said she wanted to be a different person. Why, I don't know. But, I know her – or at least I used to. She loves Mom." Shane replied with a frown. 

"Well, you know, things change. She used to love me, too." Test replied bitterly. 

There was complete silence as Shane and Test faced each other. "I'll tell you what. We'll let her join. We won't tell her _anything _about our plans until we can be sure that we can trust her. We'll leave her in the dark. What do you say?" 

All eyes were on Test as he responded. "I guess so. There is a majority, huh? Well, I'll tell _you _what. I still think you're making a mistake, Shane. You just watch." 

There was a knock on the door. It was the APA office; so the door was pretty see-through able. Shane mentally hit himself for picking such a dumb meeting spot. 

"Come in." Shane called. 

The door opened. ("Someone _finally _used the door!" Bradshaw exclaimed.) 

It was Stephanie. Test moved to the back of the table, the distrust obvious in his eyes. 

"Hi." She said awkwardly. 

"Hello, Steph." Shane said. There was a moment of silence, and then Shane continued, "Well, this is everyone. It's not much, but it will have to work. There's Bradshaw, Faarooq, Trish, Lita, Matt, Jeff, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Billy G., Molly Holly, Hardcore Holly, Crash Holly, and Test. And of course, me and Mick Foley and Mom." 

"Hi everyone." Stephanie said weakly. 

Her second greeting was met by a mere glance. 

"Well!" Shane said, with a smile. "I guess I don't have to tell you that you _can't tell anyone _about any of this, or that you can't let anyone know you're even talking to me." 

"Yeah, I know." Stephanie replied. 

"I guess that's it then! We really aren't going to do anything tonight, but we will next Monday. Okay?" Shane asked, knowing it was a lie, but he had to know if he could trust her. 

"All right. I really am glad you all let me join. You won't regret it; none of you will." Stephanie said with a quick grin. 

There were a few scattered nods. 

Stephanie smiled, and walked out of the office. 

Shane watched, made sure she was out of eye and ear sight, and said, "I lied to her. We have to know if we can trust her. I want someone to spy on her. I know it sounds odd, but if you want to know if we can trust her, we have to see what she does. I'm doing this for you, Test. I personally don't think it's necessary, but…who wants to follow her around the rest of the night?" 

"I'll do it." Molly Holly volunteered. 

"Molly!" Crash exclaimed. "C'mon, it's too dangerous. Triple H or Austin'll find ya!"  


"Crash!" Molly hissed. 

"Okay, go Molly. See you later." Shane said. Molly smiled and walked out of the office. 

"So, what do we do?" Matt Hardy asked. 

"I guess we'll just take the night off. I'd best get out of here before Show finds me. We'll wait until RAW to do anything. I'll call Mom and Foley to tell them to wait." Shane replied. 

"Why? The sooner we get rid of Commissioner Ass Clown, the better!" Jericho said. 

"I think it's best." Lita said.

"Yeah. Let's find out if Stephanie can be trusted. I don't really trust her anymore that Test does, no offense, Shane." Jeff Hardy said. 

"None taken." Shane quickly replied. "See you all later."

****

Chapter IV 

It was May 14th, at 7:00p.m. The "Alliance" was gathered in a back dressing room, with the exception of Stephanie. Shane was pacing, and Trish was absentmindedly combing through her hair. 

"When is she going to be here?" asked Test. 

"Who? Mom?" asked Shane. 

"No…Stephanie." Test said. 

"Oh…probably normal RAW time. I didn't tell her to come early." 

"Can she _really _be trusted?" he asked. 

"Oh, I think so." Molly jumped in. "I followed her around everywhere last Tuesday. She didn't say anything to anyone. Don't worry Test! Turn that frown upside down!" 

Shane laughed in spite of himself. He couldn't believe he was going to attempt this. It was very dangerous. There was Triple H, Austin…Dad….

There was no need to worry, Shane reprimanded himself. All there was to do was wait. 

* * * *

****

Every time he did it, he hated it. He had been doing it for close to three years, but he still hated. Females in the audience screamed. In fact, everyone screamed. Walking down the ramp way to the ring was one of the most difficult things to do in the business, though some might not believe it.

This particular night, however, was one of the worst. Shane was going to do something risky. In fact, it might not even work. Dad probably has some crazy scheme up his sleeve, Shane thought to himself wildly. 

A more rational voice in his head told him, "He doesn't have that power anymore…only William Regal." And even that wasn't enough…right? 

He didn't even get a chance to talk into the microphone, as it turned out. Immediately after he got into the ring, he heard the "No Chance In Hell" music play, and Vince and Stephanie walked out, arm and arm. 

__

Let's hope Steph knows what she's doing. One slip of the tongue could mean disaster, Shane thought to himself. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Vince asked. "Haven't you had enough? The Big Show _annihilated _you at Backlash!" 

"But, I won." Shane couldn't help but say that. "With a little help from one of my friends. Which, I must say Vince, is something you don't have a lot of." 

Shane caught the look of surprise on Stephanie's face. Vince was, as usual, taken aback, and had his "in shock" look on his face. 

"In the interest of fairness," Vince began, "I think the people here in Greenwich, Connecticut, would love to see a match. I think that the Big Show would like this idea also, Shane-o. How about you versus Big Show, tonight, in a no-DQ match?" 

"Isn't that taking abuse of power a little far, Vince?" asked Shane coolly. He knew that Vince was trying to set him up, and he wasn't going to let that happen.

Stephanie grabbed the microphone from Vince. "Shane!" she exclaimed. "Why don't you just give up? Don't you see? Ever since March, you've rebelled. Ever since then, you've _paid. _Why don't you just go home and get out of this while you _still can?" _

"Whatever, Stephanie." Shane shrugged.

Vince gave a look of death. "I'll see you later, _Shane-o._" He turned around to leave. 

"Wait." Shane said quietly. "You're wrong. I won't be seeing you later." 

Vince was clearly astonished. "What are you talking about?" 

"That match won't be happening." 

Stephanie shook her head in disgust. Vince just stared. 

In that split instance, the music of…William Regal started. Shane had almost forgotten about him. He walked about, wearing his "I've just been besmirched!" face. 

"Young man!" Regal said. "How dare you speak to your father in such a manner! He is a distinguished man and deserves respect!" 

Vince grinned, and nodded in approval. Stephanie grinned and clapped her approval for Regal. 

No one noticed her wink to Shane. 

"Shane McMahon, I don't know who the hell you think you are," Vince continued, "But you are going to do this match. And if you don't, you know what I can do? I can fire your ass!" 

__

He's still trying to set me up, Shane thought angrily. _Well, enough with this bullshit. He's going to learn. _"That, Dad, is exactly where you're wrong!" Shane yelled. "You can't do that anymore, can you? No, you've forgotten about Mom!" 

Vince's face fell. Maybe he saw what was happening; only now it was too late to prevent it. 

"Oh, you used to be able to, didn't you? Remember whom you screwed in December? That was because Mom wasn't around! Now she is! You might have a little trouble firing me, not that you're not CEO of this company!" 

("Man." J.R. commented. 

"Family battles!" Paul Heyman exclaimed. "But I must agree with the distinguished Commissioner Regal on this matter." 

"Of course you do." J.R. grumbled.)

Vince seemed lost for a reply. 

"Young man, Mr. McMahon may not be CEO of this company anymore because of your wretched mother's interference, but it remains that I am the World Wrestling Federation commissioner. As your commissioner, I am hereby _ordering _you to compete in the match that Mr. McMahon has specified!" William Regal exclaimed, his nostrils flaring; his teeth barred. 

It might have seemed as if Shane was losing the battle, but in truth, he was already winning. "I want to introduce you to someone who has something every interesting to say. Actually, there are many people. But I introduce you, _Commissioner, _to my mother, Linda McMahon!" Shane said.

Regal turned around, as did Vince and Stephanie. Linda's corporate music started to play, and out walked Linda…and the alliance. 

Vince watched in horror and his soon-to-be ex-wife walked out, followed by many superstars. 

"As you see, _Dad, _you may be in a little trouble." Shane said sarcastically. Vince gulped. 

Shane glanced at Stephanie, who looked decidedly uncomfortable. Her eyes met his. He nodded. She should come join the Alliance in the ring. Or should she? Shane's brow furrowed. Her marriage to Hunter…would be in trouble if she publicly joined the Alliance…or would it not be harmed? 

Shane saw Stephanie gulp, and she walked away from Regal and Vince. 

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Vince asked Stephanie. "Are you leaving because you're outnumbered? Are you a coward, Stephanie? Huh? Is that it? You go where you can be protected?" He roared. 

Stephanie ignored him. 

"Fine! Go then! I don't need you, damn it! I'm Vince McMahon, damn it! I own this company! I own all of you! I own everything you people are looking at!" he roared. 

"Dad, I'm not the same person you are." Stephanie spluttered into her microphone as she reached the ring. "I'm not Daddy's Little Girl anymore. I can make decisions for…myself. I've decided that…that you're wrong. You're just a despicable person." 

Vince looked stunned. 

"Maybe you need to be told that straight to your face. Well, now you have. Look in the mirror once, Dad." Stephanie looked ready to cry. 

Vince actually looked ashamed of himself for a moment. For a split second, Shane actually thought he saw his real father – the father he had once known, so long ago – peek through. He remembered how he used to be. He thought about the Greater Power incident, and how it had affected people around him. He had almost become exactly like his father then. He had almost become exactly like his father during the McMahon-Helmsley Era. 

Fortunately, he had saved himself from that fate. 

"Well, if that's how you feel then fine!" Vince roared. "Screw all of you: Shane, Stephanie, and you, Linda!" 

He turned around to leave, again, but was (again) stopped short. 

"You wait just a minute, Dad." Shane said mockingly. "You've forgotten what Mom has to say." 

Vince turned slowly around. The look on his face was frightening. "What?" he rumbled. 

"Vince, I'll make this short, since you want to leave so badly." Linda spoke suddenly. "Without further ado, I introduce to you, the new World Wrestling Federation Commissioner, best selling author, three-time World Wrestling Federation Champion, Mick Foley!" 

Regal wrinkled his nose in disgust as Mick Foley's music crashed out of nowhere. From behind him, Shane heard Chris Jericho roaring in laughter; he was one up on Regal again. 

Shane couldn't help but grin. Vince was absolutely livid. He was literally jumping up and down and Mick Foley trotted to the ring, waving like crazy. 

"I guess I'll also make this short." Mick said as he got onto the microphone. "I just wanted to tell you, Vince: Have a nice day!" 

THE END 

Disclaimer: I know wrestling is fake, and the characters are owned by WWF. I would really appreciate feedback; I worked very hard on this. 

Questions? Comments? Marriage proposals? Mail them all to: [the_brink_of_insanity@hotmail.com][1]

__ __

   [1]: mailto:the_brink_of_insanity@hotmail.com



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